ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
President of India presents National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022
Key highlights:
- Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal is the sole recipient of the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award this year
- 25 athletes across the Olympic sports, Paralympic sports and Deaflympics sports have received the Arjuna Awards
The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu presented the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2022  at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan today in New Delhi.
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Nisith Pramanik, Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports in the august presence of Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Smt. Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs & Education, Shri Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and, Justice A M Khanwilkar, Retd. Judge, Supreme Court of India and the Chairperson of the Selection Committee for Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award and Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy. Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary of Department of Sports, Smt. Meeta Rajivlochan, Secretary of Department of Youth Affairs and other senior officers of the Ministry were also present on this occasion.
This year, total 44 Awards have been presented in the National Sports and Adventure Awards, 2022. Most of the athletes who have received the awards have been supported by the Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs; and Sports Authority of India, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme and the Khelo India Scheme since many months. Legendary Table Tennis player Sharath Kamal is the sole recipient of the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award this year. Sharath has been a part of the TOP scheme since December 2018 and has been imparted the best of infrastructural and equipment training. This year 25 athletes across the Olympic sports, Paralympic sports and Deaflympics sports have received the Arjuna Awards. The Government of India’s flagship Khelo India Scheme has also played a crucial role in giving exposure to these talented youngsters from the scratch to the elite level. Other awards given out in the evening include the Dronacharya Award, Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad trophy as well as the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
Kindly click for the details of Awardees
Related links:
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1875896
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1878293
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1879814
Ministry of Defence
Indian Navy and Royal Bahrain Navy exercise set to begin
Mumbai, August 17, 2021
INS Kochi, flying the flag of Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet  is at Manama, Bahrain as part of its Persian Gulf deployment. The FOCWF called on Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force, Rear Admiral Mohammed Yousif al-Asam on 16 Aug 21 and was received by a ceremonial Guard of Honour at their Naval Base.
Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet  calling on His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Kingdom of Bahrain at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace.
A co-ordination and operational planning conference between the Indian Navy and Bahrain Navy teams was also held ahead of the Maritime Partnership Exercise scheduled to be held on 18 Aug 21 between both the navies.
A Coordination and Planning conference in progress between the Indian Navy and Bahrain Navy teams onboard INS Kochi
Rear Admiral Ajay Kochhar, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet  calling on Chief of the Naval Staff of the Royal Bahrain Naval Force, Rear Adm Mohammed Yousif al-Asam.
The FOCWF also called on His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Kingdom of Bahrain at the Al-Qudaibiya Palace.
Ministry of Finance
Valediction Ceremony of the 74th Batch of Indian Revenue Service in NADT, Nagpur
The Valediction Ceremony of the Induction Training of 74th batch of Indian Revenue Service Officers  was conducted on 29th April, 2022 at the National Academy of Direct Taxes , Nagpur. Shri. M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Governor of Maharashtra, was the Guest of Honour. Shri Nitin Raut, Minister of Energy, New and Renewable Energy of Government of Maharashtra, also graced the event. Shri J.B. Mohapatra, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes  and Shri Pravin Kumar, Principal Director General , NADT were also present on the occasion.
The Chief Guest, Shri. M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, at the outset, congratulated the Officer Trainees of the 74th Batch of IRS. He urged the new entrants of the Income Tax Department that they should work towards enhancing the quality of life of people of this country. He also advised the Officer Trainees to strive towards transforming ‘Swaraj’ to ‘Suraj’ by ensuring the ‘mantra’ of ‘reform, perform and transform’ given by the Prime Minister of India. He also congratulated the CBDT for highest ever income tax collection and for successfully implementing the Faceless Schemes. He urged the Officer Trainees that while they should work towards tax collection and increase of revenue, but their actions should not be arbitrary. He exhorted that they should ensure a non-adversarial and non-intrusive tax regime. He also congratulated NADT for the effective training given to the young officers.
Shri J. B. Mohapatra, Chairman, CBDT, welcomed the dignitaries on behalf of the Income Tax Department. He informed the gathering that the training at the Academy is guided by the Citizens’ Charter of the Department and advised the Officer Trainees to always remember that they are Civil Servants first and officers afterwards. He also advised them to have a positive attitude, highest standard of integrity and strive to be fair and firm in their approach. Shri Pravin Kumar, Pr. DG , NADT presented the profile of the 74th Batch of IRS along with an overview of the Induction Training.
NADT is the apex training institute for the officers of IRS, recruited through the Civil Services Examination. At NADT, they undergo Induction Training of 16 months wherein they are given detailed inputs on Income Tax Laws, Jurisprudence, Allied laws, Accountancy and Tax Administration. The 74th Batch of IRS comprises of 56 officers including 2 officers from Bhutan Royal Service. It includes 21 lady officers and has representation of 19 States and Union territories of India.
The Chief Guest presented the medals for the best performance in Academics and overall performance. Team NADT led by Shri Pravin Kumar, Pr. DG , NADT, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the dignitaries for taking time out of their busy schedule and for their valuable guidance to the young Officer Trainees of the 74th Batch of IRS.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Union Home Secretary and Secretary, DoPT Shri A.K.Bhalla releases e-HRMS brochure on Good Governance Day
The Union Home Secretary and Secretary, DoPT Shri A.K.Bhalla today released the progress report of e-HRMS launched by the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh on 25th December, 2017. The Electronic-Human Resource Management System  launched by Dr. Jitendra Singh had 25 applications of 5 modules of the system.
Speaking after the release of e-brochure, Shri Bhalla said that it will become a good and effective tool for all the Ministries in times to come. He said that application of Artificial Intelligence tools will greatly help in policy making and in handling of matters related to personnel. Shri Bhalla said that there is a need to popularise the e-HRMS in other Ministries for its use in comprehensive manner.
Additional Secretary, DOPT, Smt Rashmi Chowdhary said that through e-HRMS, Government employees are accessing their service related information and it has digitized HR processes in the Government of India, leading to several benefits for the employees and increasing efficiency.
With the advanced version of e-HRMS, employees will be able to not only see all their details w.r.t service book, leave, GPF, Salary etc., but also apply for different kind of claims/reimbursements, loan/advances, leave, leave encashment, LTC advances, Tour etc. on a single platform.
This system has various advantages such as providing Dash board for employee and management, Updated service records, E-governance in office procedures, Reduced file movement, Faster service delivery, Assist in decision making, Common document repository of employees, Standardization of Master Data, Minimize manual entry of data, Ease of sharing information among stake holders, e-Sign for accountability/authenticity, PFMS and e-HRMS integration for faster payments of GPF, advances, Loans, reimbursements.
Besides, Shri A.K.Bhalla, senior officials of the DoPT attended today’s release function.
Click here to see the English version of E-HRMS:
Click here to see the Hindi version of e-HRMS:
<><><><><>
SNC
(Visitor Counter : 727
Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition by Amazon.com in Future Coupons
The Competition Commission of India  approves the acquisition by Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC  in Future Coupons  Limited , under Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2002, today.
The proposed combination pertains to the acquisition by the Acquirer of approximately 49% of the voting and non-voting equity shares of the Target . The Proposed Combination consists of certain other constituent steps involving FCL, Future Corporate Resources Private Limited , and Future Retail Limited .
The Acquirer is globally engaged in the business of making investments in other companies. It is a direct subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.  and belongs to the Amazon group. ACI is the ultimate parent entity of the Amazon group.
FCRPL is engaged in business of management consultancy services and trading in goods and services and also has investments in various Future Group of companies. FCL is principally engaged in marketing and distribution of corporate gift cards, loyalty cards and reward cards to corporate customers. FRL  are active in the Indian retail market and currently operate multiple retail formats in hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores under various brand names.
A detailed order of the CCI will follow.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Regulations for Bharat New Car Assessment Programme
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification dated 24th June 2022, whereby it is proposed to insert a new rule 126E in CMVR , 1989 regarding the Bharat New Car Assessment Program . The following has been proposed :-
 It is applicable on Type Approved motor vehicles of category M1 [motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats, in addition to driver’s seat] with gross vehicle weight less than 3.5 Tonnes, manufactured or imported in the country, in accordance with the Automotive Industry Standard -197, as amended from time to time. The standard is aligned with global benchmarks: it is beyond minimum regulatory requirements.
 Bharat NCAP rating will provide consumers an indication of the level of protection offered to occupants by evaluating the vehicle in the areas of  Adult Occupant Protection   Child Occupant Protection  and  Safety Assist Technologies . The vehicle shall be assigned a star rating from one to five stars , based on scoring against various tests undertaken as per AIS 197.
It introduces the concept of safety rating of passenger cars and empowers consumers to take informed decisions. It will promote export worthiness of the cars produced by OEMs in the country and increase the domestic customer’s confidence in these vehicles . Additionally the program will encourage manufacturers to provide advanced safety technologies to earn higher ratings.
 The testing of vehicles for this program will be carried out at Testing Agencies, with the necessary infrastructure, referred to in Rule 126 of CMVR 1989.
 Date of Applicability: 1st day of April 2023.
Comments and suggestions have been solicited from all stakeholders within a period of thirty days.
Ministry of Science & Technology
DST institute develops new multiplex RT-PCR kit with novel gene targets to facilitate detection across various mutant strains of COVID 19
This unique RT-PCR kit will be a significant weapon in our fight against COVID-19 by a facile detection of SARS-CoV-2 mutations: Secretary, DST, Prof Ashutosh Sharma
A newly developed multiplex RT-PCR kit has a higher accuracy of detecting covid19 across the various mutant strains of the virus responsible for the global pandemic.
As the pandemic is going through a second wave with multiple variants, the selection of target genes in multiplex RT-PCR assay is becoming critical for accurate detection of the virus.
Even though coronaviruses make far fewer errors than other RNA viruses, the mutations in S, R, and N genes often interfere with RT-PCR assay. For example, the “variant of concern” B1.1.7  has a 69-70del, due to deletion of 6 bases in the RNA, which resulted in S gene drop out from RT-PCR assay.
The new multiplex RT-PCR kit developed Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology , an Institute of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India targets two SARS CoV2 genes: RdRp and ORFb-nsp14, and the human RNAse P gene as the internal control to help detect a range of mutant strains.
Various studies have shown that RdRp and ORF1b-nsp14 genes are more sensitive in detecting Covid19. In order to target the multiple variants in the second wave, using two highly accurate confirmatory genes like RdRp and ORF-nsp14, can give precise results. The ORFb-nsp14 is one of the least mutated genes in Covid19 and currently, there are no kits in the market with ORF-nsp14 as the target.
The new kit is based on multiplex Taqman chemistry, amplifying all three genes in a single reaction. The amplification time for the assay is 45 minutes, apart from the time required for the RNA isolation from nasopharyngeal swab samples. Multiplexing two confirmatory genes will help shortlist possible new variants if one of the genes fails to amplify and can be marked for sequence analysis.
ICMR has validated this kit at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and found that it has 97.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity in covid19 detection.
SCTIMST has signed a non-exclusive license MoU with Huwel Lifesciences, Hyderabad, on 14th May 2021 to commercialize the kit.
“This unique RT-PCR kit will be a significant weapon in our fight against COVID-19 by a facile detection of SARS-CoV-2 mutations which are becoming increasingly important,” said Secretary, DST, Prof Ashutosh Sharma.
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President appeals to Rajya Sabha MPs to contribute from MPLADS funds to combat COVID-19
Vice President urges to voluntary and philanthropic bodies to provide food and shelter to stranded migrant labour
VP requests citizens to contribute to PM-CARES Fund
The Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha Chairman, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has appealed to all Members of Parliament to contribute at least Rs. 1 crore initially from their MPLADS funds to supplement the Government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to all MPs, the Vice President referred to the extra-ordinary situation arising from the outbreak of COVID-19 and the plethora of measures being undertaken by the Government of India, and other stakeholders, including the private sector to control and mitigate the situation for the people.
Highlighting the requirement of the enormous amount of resources-financial, material and human- to successfully combat COVID-19, Shri Naidu said the Government of India is pooling financial resources from various avenues to augment the availability of funds at the national, state and district levels.
Observing that their prompt action will greatly help India in its fight against COVID-19, the Vice President requested the MPs to give their consent to centrally earmark an amount of at least Rs.1 crore initially from their MPLAD Scheme for the Financial Year 2020-21.
He also pointed out that the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation has suitably amended the relevant guidelines to allow one-time dispensation under MPLADS for managing COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the Vice President also urged individuals to come forward and contribute to the PM-CARES Fund to strengthen disaster management capacities. While appreciating various civil society organizations for providing help to the needy and poor in this hour of crisis, he appealed to people to stay safe and healthy and strictly follow the guidelines issued by the government.
Earlier, the Vice President held a meeting with Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Shri Om Birla, Secretary Generals of both the Houses and spoke to the Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha and leaders of different political parties in Rajya Sabha about MPLADS.
He also appreciated the gesture of people from various walks of life in contributing towards to the PM-CARES Fund and appealed to all to come forward and donate to this noble cause, while reminding everyone of India’s age-old tradition of share and care, which is the core of our philosophy.
Appealing to one and all to take care of the stranded migrant labour in their areas, Shri Naidu requested state governments, voluntary and philanthropic bodies to provide them with food and shelter. He also wanted the agencies which hired the migrant labour to come to their rescue.
The Vice President also spoke to Minister for State  for Labour & Employment, Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar and to the Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, Shri Rajiv Gauba and enquired about the coordination with various state governments on the issue of migrant labour.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Over 22 Lakh New Msmes Registered Between March 2018 - March 2019
22.83 lakh Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  were registered on Udyog Aadhaar Portal in the country during March, 2018 to March 2019.
The Ministry of MSME facilitates access to finance for Micro and Small Enterprises through its schemes / programmes namely Prime Minister’s Employment Generation programme , Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises and Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme.
The credit flow to MSME sector by all Scheduled Commercial Banks during the last 3 years is given below:
|
|
Year ended
|
|
Amount Outstanding 
|
|
March 2017
|
|
1070129.48
|
|
March 2018
|
|
1149353.83
|
|
March 2019
|
|
1497687.10
The Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises  was launched by the Government of India to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector. The number and amount of Guarantees approved under the CGTMSE during the last 2 years is given below:
|
|
Year
|
|
No. of Credit Facilities Approved 
|
|
Amount of Guarantees Approved

|
|
2017-18
|
|
2.63
|
|
19065.91
|
|
2018-19
|
|
4.36
|
|
30168.57
This has also helped in better credit flow to the micro and small enterprises.
This information was given by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Promotion Of Natural Farming
In order to involve more farmers and enhance the reach of natural farming on a larger scale, Government has formulated Natural Mission on Natural Farming  by up-scaling the Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati  to promote natural farming across the country. NMNF will cover 7.5 lakh ha area by developing 15,000 clusters in next 4 years with total budget outlay of Rs. 1584 crore . With NMNF Government proposes to touch 1 crore farmers along the Ganga belt and in other rainfed parts of the country. For making easy access to bio- resources like Jeevamrit, Ghana Jeevamrit, neemastra etc., Government intends to set up 15,000 Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-inputs Resources Centres .
In order to provide farmers adopting natural farming an easy access to bio resources like Jeevaamrit, Ghana Jeevamrit, neemastra etc. wherein cow dung and urine, neem and bio culture play an important role, Government intends to set up Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-inputs Resources Centres  to prepare and supply bio-inputs to facilitate the adoption of natural farming without individual farmers having to prepare them on their own, as preparation of bio-inputs is a time taking and labour- intensive activity. These bio-inputs resources centres would be set up alongside 15000 model clusters of natural farming 50 ha each. These BRCs would create a national level distributed micro fertilizers and pesticides manufacturing network @ 1 BRC per 50 ha clusters during the period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare  is undertaking large scale training of Master Trainers, Champion Farmers and practicing farmers on techniques of Natural Farming through National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management  and National Center of Organic and Natural Farming . MANAGE has also sensitized the public representative like Gram-Pradhan on the technique and benefits of Natural Farming. Study material on 22 regional languages has been prepared, 697 Master Trainers have been developed on natural farming and 997 training were conducted on natural farming for 56952 Gram Pradhans through MANAGE. In addition, Indian Council of Agriculture Research  has initiated research in 20 locations to validate natural farming techniques besides demonstrating in 425 KVKs to showcase the benefits of natural farming.
A Digital web portal  has been launched for promotion of natural farming to display information about implementation framework, resources, implementation progress, farmer’s registration, blog etc.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.